Giants

 Giants - We seem to find them in our lives.  They're the things that we feel are too big for us to handle.                                              

God’s people - the Israelites, faced literal giants. We read of David, the shepherd boy who fought the 

giant.  The scripture tells us that Israel and the Philistines were at war.  The Israelites were on one hill and the Philistines on the opposite one with the valley between them.

From the Message version of 1 Samuel 17, we read - 

“A giant, nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath!  He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds.”

Wow!  That’s some Giant isn’t it?  And the Israelites were running scared.

Scripture says that Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel.  He wanted one man to come down and fight him.  He said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel!”

This went on and on.  For 40 days Goliath came out and defied God.

Finally, help came.  But it came in the form of a little kid named David.  He was sent by his dad to check on his brothers.  When David arrived and heard what the giant was saying, he became angry and said,

 “. . .  Who is this that defies the armies of the living God?”

Without even thinking about it, David told the King that he would fight the giant.

Saul didn’t think it was a good idea, but David persevered.  He told Saul that he’d killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands and this giant would be just like one of them . . . and he added the most important thing. 

“because he (the giant) has defied the armies of the living God, the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

You know what happened then - David chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in a pouch, and, with his sling and his staff in his hands, approached the Philistine giant.  And as he approached, David said -

“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. . . and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

So, young David did – He killed the giant by slinging a stone – without the help of the army, without the help of his brothers, and without the help of shield, sword and armor.  He killed him with the help of our great almighty God.

Do you have giants in your land?  What are your giants? 

I see a giant as something that we feel inadequate to handle.   Our giants may be huge or small, but if they intimidate us, and we don’t feel we can handle them – they’re still giants.

Here are a few examples.

How about worry?  Are you battling the giant that stands there and tells you that you need to worry about what’s going to happen to you because of things you don’t understand?  He’s a really big giant – threatening you with all kinds of possibilities – dire consequences.

Or maybe your giant is a health problem.  He’s a strong giant.  He pops up when you aren't looking, or he just keeps at you, to drag you down.  He may attack you or your loved ones and he just goes on causing you problems.  You feel inadequate to do anything about him.

How about the giant of loneliness?  He whispers – generally he doesn’t shout – he just gets behind you and whispers discouraging words.  He’d like to keep you to himself – and he sure doesn’t like it when you seek out other people for help.

Or maybe - your giant is grief.  That giant can ruin your life.  He will encourage your loneliness, your illnesses, and your worry.  Grief is one of those things that we all face at one time or another, and truly it’s not a bad thing until you let it grow and become a giant that controls your life. 

You’ve heard people say, “I can’t help that I’m worried.  But what does God say?

First we need to look at those giants in the way that David did.  David got angry with Goliath – Goliath was defying the almighty God.  He was making fun of God’s people – When David got angry, he determined to fight Goliath.  He was not going to let Goliath get away with his treatment of God and God’s people.  To me that’s the best part of the story.  He wanted to show that there was a Strong, Mighty God in Israel.

You know how it is when you feel something strongly.  It hits you right here, in your heart.  I believe that David felt the need to defend the name of the Almighty God, with such a gut-wrenching zeal, that he was not afraid to face a giant.  

 

Second – David understood that he required God’s help - he knew he couldn’t handle the giant by himself.  David said, “the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”  He didn’t ever say, “I can do it myself.”  He said God will protect me from this giant.

And next – David did what he could.  He armed himself with 5 stones.  God expects us to trust in him and rely on him, but then he does not expect us to just sit down and wait – we need to be active in our battle against the giants.  

How do we do that?  It’s sometimes a hard question.  But just as David put a stone in the sling, we need to put God’s word in our hearts and our minds.  God’s word, prayers, worship, and talking with other Christians – those are ammunition against the giants.  And with God’s wonderful help – we can overcome our giants. 

David won that battle.  He did it because he loved and trusted God.  He was not going to let the giant defy God.  He did it because he understood he needed God’s help – that he couldn’t do it on his own.  And he did it because he took the step of faith and put that stone in the sling. 

Jesus tells us that God is there to help us.  Do you know where your help comes from?  I hope you do, because the scripture tells us in Psalm 121

^“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord,    the Maker of heaven and earth.”

I pray that, as I face my battles, I will do so with dependence on the one who was there with David.  I pray that those who see me will know in whom I trust, and who is fighting the battle by my side.  This is my view of the battle.

The battle rages.  Giants roar, their strength's been glorified.

One giant is named loneliness, another giant – pain.

The giant’s will and mine collide -

a fight from which I’d choose to hide,

but God is there right by my side.

The battles rage, a giant roars.  His voice is loud and shrill.

He stands and shouts of loss and want.  He tells me he will win.

My heart is full of dread and chill.

Fear me! - Those awful words ring still,

but fear is not God’s will.

My God is fighting for me now.  He’s with me day and night.

My God, with mighty strength abides.  With peace, my heart God filled.

He keeps me strong, to fight the fight.

He’ll squash the wrong and right the right.

He’ll win, with all his strength and might.

And the giant will be stilled.

Diane Gruchow 2014